Rolling mill



March 21, 1961 F G, PLM-2ER 2,975,663

ROLLING MILL Filed Jan. 14, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F/ga I7. Pazel March 21, 1961 F. G. PLATZER 2,975,663

ROLLING MILL Filed Jan. 14, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 16A l- \2 I g /02 /0/ r 1 f 1 w ml im W fw 7/08 707 United States ROLLING MILL Franz G. Platzer, Max Tendler Gasse 26, Leoben, Steiermark, Austria Filed Jan. 14, 1958, Ser. No. 708,790 Claims prioritynapplicationGermany Jam-6, 1957 roliste-ss)l Y This invention relates to a rolling milljof" the type which is provided with working rolls andjintfermediate rolls revolving` about stationary roll supporting means and which is characterized by the factA that those elei ments which, while also revolving about the supporting means,4 keep the rolls at the proper spacing and with parallel axes, are at the same time constructed to serve as the means for transmitting the driving forces to the rolls, while those. revolving elements whichA support, guide and drive the working rolls and the intermediate rolls are constructed asrigid, annular and rotatable roller cages, the working and vintermediate rolls being, respec- -tively, linked to the roller cages by means of levers and A`abutting against a cam surface equipped control track under the force Vof a spring.

VFor proper operation of such a rolling mill, it is a prerequisite that thecentral axes of each of the working rolls 'andtherespective associated intermediate roll when these are in the rolling gap lie inza' single plane as viewed in Vthe direction of the roll pressure. If thislcondition does 4not obtain, then the. plane. passing through the said central axes is oriented at an angle to the direction of the roll pressure and there arises with respect to the forces lacting on the particular working and intermediate rolls a. moment arm which effects a lateral displacement of the rolls relative .to one another andrwhieh becomes so great during the rolling operation that flexing and ,even

breaking of the roll-controlling elements can occur.

In one embodiment of a rolling mill of this type, the controll of the working and intermediate rolls is effected p linking the working rolls to the rollers cages through the intermediary of, levers and by connecting the work ing rollstothe intermediate rolls through the intermediary of afpalrallelograml or 'quadrilateral linkage as well as Tjwith a control lever which is subjected to the force of a spring and` in known manner carries a roller contacting a predetermined cam surface.l In another embodiment lofsuch a rolling mill, the control is effected by Virtue of the fact that the working and intermediate rolls areV 'j ournalledby means lof their trunnions in structural'elel meritjs which aredisplaceable by means of springs in 'guides 'associata'.l,V respectively, with one working` roll and one'intermediate rolls, and extending from one sidey of Vtherolling mill to the other,`while the head ends ofthe bearing^ bodies whichuare rotatably journalled in the ',"roller cages are connected to control gears through the `intermediary, of planet gears xedto'their 'trunnions, the' control gears Ibeing rotatably mountedon the roller; cages.

oth linkage and .gearsfhoweveig .do not admit of kmainerrance Vof 'an exact andv necessarily yplay-free adjustment u ermediate rolls relative to one at a lateral displacement of two ve to one another and thus the -arm therebetween can be abrsoring about an operation v 'of' are must further be takenjthatat Irollsfis incontact with the rolling stock and that the latter is stationary during the rolling operation.. ThisV necessitates that thel I stock mustv be advanced step by step over short time intervals amounting to a fraction of a second at most, each such time intervalY starting from the instant when one pair of rolls has just left the stock and lasting only as long as the stock has not ye't been engaged by the next pair of rolls. Since, in known rolling mills, the Working rolls engage the stock in rapid sequence, there results a correspondingly largev number of forward or feed displacements per unit of time. The faultless operation 'of 'a feed device adapted for these operational conditions e aiis provision of complicatedstructuires and a continu- :dus supervisin ih order to Vensure operation in proper "timed sequence. l, In 'afrollin'g mill according to the present invention, however, each working roll is so supported on a pair of intermediate rolls that the above referred to disadvantage resulting from Vcreation of a moment arm between a working roll and the associated intermediate roll is avoided. In accordance with the invention, the intermediate rolls are so constructed that employment of a device for stepwise advance or feed of thel rolling stock may be dispensed with and the latter advanced uninterruptedly and uniformly.

The invention in essence resides in the fact that each of the intermediate rolls consists of a number of roll sections serially arranged in axial direction, and of connecting elements located between these roll sections and adapted to maintain predetermined spacings therebetween, the roll sections each consisting of an outer ring and an inner` ring with the inner rings being iixed to axles non-rotatably mounted on the roller cages and providdin part with concentric and in part with eccentric peripheral surfaces relative to the central axis of the axle. By means of such a construction, the result is attained that some of the roll sections contact only the associated working roll while others of the roll sections engage only the control surface of the supporting means.l such a case, there is no fixed rotational connection between'the two types of roll sections, i.e., since these can rotate on their axes independently of one another, it is possible to eliminate the aforesaid stepwise feed of the stock in synchronism with .the engagement of the latter by the workingfrolls.

'Ihe roll sections are preferably made alternatngly of diiferent widths and so mounted on the axles of the Vintermediate rolls that for each pair of such intermediate rolls,ia section of Vlesser width'lies opposite-a section of greater width. This arrangement has the advantage that the working rolls which contact the wider sections of the `intermediate rolls run on overlapping surfaces, whereby no grooves which could be transferred to the stock being rolled can be formed on the peripheral surfaces of the working rolls.

These and other features and advantages of the invention will become manifest from the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment thereof, which description is to be read in conjunction with the accomn panying drawings.

Y In the drawings: p

Fig. l is a vertical section through the rolling mil-1; ,Fig. 2 is a partly sectional side elevational view on an 4enlarged scale of fa working Vroll with associated inter- -i mediate rolls; t

Fig. 3 is a plan View of thestructure shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an end elevational view of the lstructureshown VinFig.`2;and 1 k; Figs. 5V to 7 show, on a still morelenlarged'scale, an

intermediate roll in longitudinal section, a `paii` ofint'er- ,y mediate rolls in plan, Iand an. end view of this pair f intermediaterolls;respectively,

Since inV voffset in accordance with Referring now more particularly to Fig. 1, it will be seen that roll-shaped supporting bodies 20 and 21 located one above the other are non-rotatably mounted in roll stands 32. On these supporting bodies are arranged at uniform angular intervals pairs of intermediate rolls 25-,25' and 26-26 which, during the rolling operation, are guided labout the supporting bodies in the directions of the arrows 18 together with the working rolls 16 and 17 supported on these intermediate rolls.

Mounted on the adjacent sides of the supporting bodies 20 and 21 are guide pieces 23 and 24 which provide both converging surfaces 23 and 24' and parallel surfaces 23 `and 24". The peripheral surface of each supporting body departs from a purely circular configuration at both sides of the associated guidepiece so that its peripheral surface contains both converging and diverging regions.

The supporting means or bodies 20 and 21 are surrounded by rotatable and drivably mounted roller cages 34 and 35 to which the working rolls 16 and 17 are linked by means of levers 36 and 37. These levers are swingable about pivots 96 and 97 provided on the roller cages and carry at their `free ends bearings 98 (see Fig. 2) for the working rolls as well as a carrier element 99. Between each two oppositely located carrier elements 99 is arranged a respective one of the pairs of intermediate rolls 25-25' and 26-26.

Each of the intermediate rolls consists of a number of roll sections arranged serially in axial direction on a respective one of the axles 100 and 100', the sections, as shown in Fig. consisting of rings 101 and 102. These rings are mounted through the intermediary of rollers 103 and 104 on inner rings 105 and 106 which are iixed to the axles 100 and 100. The inner rings have peripheral surfaces which are in part concentric and in part eccentric with respect to the center of the respective axle. Inthe illustrated embodiment, inner rings with concentric surfaces alternate with inner rings of eccentric surfaces. The eccentricity of the inner rings is radial and outwardly, i.e., in a direction opposite to the roll pressure, as a result of which the working rolls supported by the intermediate rolls lie only on the rings 102 which project beyond the rings 101. The rings 101, in contradistinction to this, extend beyond the rings 102 in the direction of the roll pressure, so that they lie only on the lassociated support body or the guide piece thereof. Between the rings 101 and 102, there is provided no rotational connection; these rings thus can rotate independently of one another on the associated inner rings 105 and 106.

It is advantageous to construct the rings 101 and 102 of different Widths in such a manner that each ring of lesser width is followed by a ring of larger width. In this construction, the rings 102 serving to support the Working rolls are made of larger width. The various rings of each pair of intermediate rolls are so arranged that a ring of larger width of one of the intermediate rolls of each pair lies opposite a ring of lesser width of the other intermediate roll of the same pair. The rings of larger width thus form overlapping bearing'surfaces for the working rolls supported thereon during the rolling operation. Formation of grooves on the peripheral surfaces of the working rolls, which might be expected with spaced Supporting surfaces, is avoided as a result of this overlapping.

The axles 100 and 100 of each pair of intermediate rolls are connected with one another at their ends by means of butt-plates 107 and additionally by means of butt-plates 10S disposed in the spaces between the roll sections 101,--105 and 102-106. The butt-plates are the different widths of the roll sections and serve to take up the considerable lateral forces arising during the rolling operation and to avoid, by virtue of their distribution over their enti-re lengths Fof the intermediate rolls, a bending of the latter and of the associated working rolls.

In order to ensure continuous abutment between the working rolls and the associated pairs of intermediate rolls on the one hand and between the latter and the supporting bodies 20 and 21 on the other hand, there are provided between the roller cages 34 and 35 and the levers 36 and 37 carrying the working rolls, tension springs 109 (see Fig. 4)..

The levers 36 and 37 are preferably provided with counter-weights 110 (Fig. 4) in order to compensate for the centrifugal forces which arise due to the rotation of the roller cages by the working and intermediate rolls and which tend to lift these rolls from the supporting bodies.

Various changes may, of course, be made in the structure and structural arrangements disclosed hereinabove without departing trom the spirit and scope of the present invention, and it is intended that such changes be embraced inthe appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and sought to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. In a rolling mill equipped with stationary supporting means including respective peripheral guidesurfaces each provided with a cam portion, rigid, annular and drivable roller cages mounted to revolve about said supporting means and said guide surfaces thereof, a plurality of levers linked to said roller cages, a plurality of axially parallel working rolls each rotatably carried by a respective one of said levers, a plurality of intermediate rolls carried by said roller cages in axially parallel relationship to and supporting said working rolls, and spring means biasing said working rolls against said intermediate rolls and the latter against said control surfaces of said supporting means; said intermediate rolls being arranged in pairs with each pair supporting one of said working rolls, each of said intermediate rolls comprising a plurality of roll sections all of equal diameter arranged axially along the axle, a connecting element disposed between each two adjacent roll sections for ensuring a predetermined spacing therebetween, each of said roll sections comprising an inner ring fixed to said axle, and an outer ring rotatably mounted on said inner ring, said inner rings being arranged in a first group and a second group, each group including alternate inner rings along the axle, the inner rings of said first group being mounted on the axle with their pripheries concentric with the axis of said axle, the inner rings of said second group being mounted with their peripheries concentric to a common axis parallel to but spaced from the axis of said axle in the direction of said working mill, whereby the said outer rings mounted on said first group of inner rings contact said guide surfaces, and said outer rings mounted on said second group of inner rings contact said working roll.

2. In a rolling mill according to claim 1; said roll sections of each of said intermediate rolls being alternatingly of different widths, the roll sections of greater width of each intermediate roll of each pair being disposed opposite the roll sections of lesser width of the other intermediate roll of the same pair.

3. In a rolling mill according to claim l; said spring means comprising a plurality of tension springs each connected between a respective one of said levers and the corresponding one of said roller cages.

4. In a rolling mill according to claim l; counterweight means operatively mounted on each of said levers.

5. In a rolling mill of the type described including at least one guide surface, at least one working roll, a pair of intermediate rolls rolling on said guide surface and spacing said working roll from said guide surface, each of said intermediate rolls comprising two groups of roll sections all of the same diameter arranged alternately along the length of each said roll, theaxis of said groups Yof roll sections being parallel to each other and spaced so that one group of roll sections rolls only on said guide surface independently of the other group of roll sections whichy roll only on said working roll.

y6. The Arolling mill of claim 5, in which the groups of roll sections that roll on said working roll are of greater axial length than the groups of roll sections that bear against said guide surface.

7. The rolling mill of claim 6, in which the roll sections of greater axial length on one of said pair of intermediate rolls are disposed opposite the roll sections of lesser axial length on the other of said pair of rolls.

8. The rolling mill of claim 5, in which a connecting element is disposed between each two adjacent roll sections extending between said two intermediate rolls to ensure a predetermined spacing therebetween.

9. An intermediate roll for a rolling mill ofk the type described having an associated support body and at least one working roll spaced by at least one intermediate roll from said support body, said intermediate roll comprising an axle, a number of roll sections arranged along said axle forming two groups of roll sections, each of said sections including an outer ring and anr inner ring, said roll sections of said groups of roll-sections being alternately concentric with said axle and eccentric to said References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 771,611 Davis oct. 4, 1904 1,708,185 Mattei Apr. 9, 1929 1,824,211 Jobke sept. 22, 1931 2,273,122, Maussnest Feb. 17, 1942 2,709,934 Platzer June 7, 1955 2,718,827 Whittum sept. 27, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 655,190 Great Britain July 11, 1951 717,203 oct. 20, 1954 Great Britain 

